Billionaire venture capitalist Tom Steyer said he was still optimistic Tuesday night, even as he was sitting in third place in the governor's race and trailing by hundreds of thousands of votes.

Former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, former Fox News host Steve Hilton and billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer led in early returns in the California governor’s race on election night, signaling a potential Democrat-on-Republican matchup in November if the trend holds.

The race for California governor remains up for grabs.

California voters will see a familiar name on the ballot.

Democrats’ governance in one of the bluest states in America is being put to the test Tuesday, as California voters in primaries for governor and Los Angeles mayor weigh crowded fields led by relatively weak or unpopular frontrunners.

California Democrats have been wringing their hands for weeks about who would emerge as front-runners in the unusually crowded race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom.